Between September 3rd and September 7th 2022, the performances in the official competition of the second edition of the "Șerban Ionescu" Theatre and Film Festival will be performed at the Sala Mică of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest, as part of the young theatre micro-season #FestivalulContinuă.

The Sand Pit is the story of one relationship and, at the same time, the story of many relationships. The sand pit, a playful space, a space of childhood, becomes a meeting place, a place of closeness, a place of confrontation for Him and Her, Protasie and Milka, a Boy and a Girl, a Man and a Woman.

"I think human beings are made in such a way that they need each other, they just haven't learned how to be together." Werner Fassbinder, Petra von Kant's Bitter Tears

"The Sand Pit is a show that is very dear to me. There's a lot for me in this show: it's my directorial debut, it's a personal quest and a process of working intimately and honestly with a super team. I'm a big believer in people and collaborations in theatre, I think if you have a good team half the job is done. I think theatre is first and foremost about meetings: meetings between people and meetings between people and ideas. As a director you propose an idea and sometimes you are lucky enough to find the right people at the right time for that idea and then a search begins together. When that meeting works, you feel less alone, you feel like you've found people to enter the fray side by side with you. It's something that can't be described in words. When I first saw a string of the show I was somewhat surprised: I didn't recognise it at all; it was mine and it was no longer mine, it had become ours. That's how I imagine raising a child. There's something magical about this profession." Bianca Oprea, director

"We are all children who had to grow up. To forget about that core that gives the essence of our personality because we have things that we have to deal with, big people things that have to be dealt with in a big people style. Why is it important to connect with the child in us, with their needs, their wants and their desires? The sand pit is a space of depersonalization, a space where two adults allow themselves to be children again in order to get to know each other on a primal level, behind all the filters and masks we need to put on in order to exist and protect ourselves in society. The Sand Pit is about something seemingly very simple that becomes extraordinarily complicated. It's about self-knowledge, about playfulness, excitement, joy, connection, regret, but also hope.  It's a show that shows that we're actually not as grown up as we like to think we are, that reminds us that from time to time we also need to remember the child in us and spend more time with them. And maybe answer who our super wizard is and where we can find him. Because, thankfully, we're not alone." Răzvan Mîndruță, actor

Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu